Sunday, November 30, 1997 Published at 21:43 GMTSport: FootballCeltic cruise to cup final winCraig Burley heads in Celtic's third goal

Celtic lifted the Scottish Coca-Cola Cup with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Dundee United at the home of their arch-rivals Rangers.

Two early goals from Danish defender Marc Rieper, who passed a late fitness test, and Swedish striker Henrik Larsson allowed the Glaswegians to put one hand on the trophy. And the game was killed off in the second half by Craig Burley.

The cup was only Celtic's second trophy this decade, but they achieved it in convincing fashion, going through the whole tournament without conceding a single goal.

Dundee United were a big disappointment to their fans, few of whom stayed to watch Celtic lift the cup, the first trophy of Dutch head coach Wim Jansen's reign.

Wim Jansen - first trophy for Celtic

Rieper's towering header in the 21st minute put Celtic in front.

Three minutes later a poor ball by Mark Perry was intercepted by Larsson, whose shot from outside the box was deflected in off Maurice Malpas.

Kjell Olofsson went closest to scoring for Dundee United but his 31st
minute free-kick went just wide with Celtic keeper Jonathan Gould seemingly beaten.

United came out for the second half looking like they had received a vintage tongue lashing from boss Tommy McLean.

But they failed to get on the scoresheet and in the 59th minute Craig Burley, Celtic's former Chelsea midfielder, headed in from close range despite calls for offside.

German forward Andreas Thom burst clear of United's tiring defence and should have made it 4-0 with only 10 minutes left but he shot wide.

Celtic's man of the match Morten Wieghorst described the victory as a "great team performance".

The Dane said: "This wasn't about individuals - it was a great team victory."

Larsson said the win rated as one of the best moments of his career. "Everybody is so happy. The supporters have been waiting for this for a long time.

"We hope we'll feel the benefit of this win in the championship. We've got a lot to do but we will do well if we keep on playing like this."